You Never Forget Your First Pair of Wings
by Karine Dragon'sheart
Summary: Hmph. What is keeping that man so long! He should have been here DAYS ago...Vincentric at first, Valenwind towards the end! Rated for Cid AND Vin's mouths.


-1

**Heeeeeylaaaa! Long time no see! As evidenced by my massive hell of writer's block, I haven't done much these last few months……but I do have progress! Lookee, lookee! Vin/Cid grew on me in the kind of way that Megumi/Sano did: it was already so damned canon that it might as well have been made that way. Anywho, this takes place about five years after FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus, (give or take. It might change if Genesis/Gackt gets his own game…) and does contain SPOILERS. If you're curious, I pwn almost all on DoC, so I've played the main storyline and a good majority of the bonus features to date. I'm replaying on Ex Hard, so expect more fun plot bunnies as I fulfill my yaoi fixation. **

**Anywho….I do believe I'll let the happy couple indulge in say the disclaimer…**

**V: WTF? Happy couple? He's pissing me off and worrying me at the same time in the first half!**

**C: (puppy dog eyes)**

**V: No.**

**C: (whimpers)**

**V: Now, how come you do that for our audience, and not for me?**

**C: 'Cause it pisses you off somethin' terrible.**

**V: (growls) Alright, Highwind, no smut this time! (stalks off)**

**C: (shrugs) Oh well…This pathetic excuse for an author doesn't own diddly-squat, y'hear? 'Sides, she'd be rolling in cash if she did.**

_**You Never Forget Your First Pair of Wings**_

Vincent sighed as he brushed his long black hair out of his face once more, the chilly Nibelheim wind cutting through his cloak in a way that no bullet ever had. He'd been perched up above the town proper for the past three days, secluded on a peak that in truth could not be scaled by anything other than an airship…unless you happened to harbor the Sephiroth, Genesis, and/or Chaos gene. And since Sephiroth was in the Lifestream and Genesis supposedly non-existent, that left a demon-haunted gunman who frequently threatened to shoot himself in the head in order to shut up said demons. Death Gigas and Hellmasker weren't so bad since they mostly just growled and whimpered…But Galian Beast's constant questioning and Chaos' unkillable cynicism had a rather negative effect on Vincent's mood….and Highwind being late wasn't much better.

"GodDAMMIT, Highwind! Where the HELL are you, you bloody bastard?!" He snarled, hunkered down behind a boulder with an assortment of camping gear and an empty bottle of rum. He hated camping out to begin with, and a cold camp with Level 1 Fire materia and no alcohol? That more than just pissed him off….

_Why are we waiting up here for him? I say head back, get plastered, and call him, then jump his ass when he gets here…_

"As enchanting as that sounds, he really acted worried…"

_Softie._

"Shut up."

_**What's that?**_

_A softie is a wuss, Gali._

_**No, no…in the distance!**_

_I dunno, looks like a bird…_

"It's the Highwind, you morons. About freaking time…" Vincent stood up and gathered together his gear, and pulling the black bag over his shoulder, hopped up onto the rock and held up a very prominent middle finger to the airship, knowing that Cid would see it just fine on his monitors.

**"VINCENT! HOW'RE YA DOIN-WHATCHA FLIPPIN' ME THE BIRD FOR, VAMPY?!"**

"It's so nice to hear his voice again, wouldn't you agree?"

_If you're turned on by insults, then I suppose…_Despite the gesture, Cid still thought enough of him to lower the back gate on the Highwind and he let the vicious winds that had been buffeting him all the past few days carry him into the warmth of the Highwind's cargo hold. Cid stood there waiting for him, his face strangely angry for such a usually carefree man. However, Vincent was no more in the mood for his childishness than Cid was for his usual angsting.

"About time, Highwind…" He muttered as he stalked past the pilot, only to have his arm grabbed and his thin body yanked back.

"What the hell was that about, Sunshine?!" Red eyes narrowed and glared down into fierce blue, and prying Cid's hand off his arm slowly, he growled low and long.

"It was about the FACT that you LEFT me to wait for THREE FUCKING DAYS on that BLOODY mountain. I could have easily enough flown down, but I waited because I figured the first night that you'd had some trouble…the second night was filled with WORRY about you and your crew…and the third was just plain anger, because I thought that you'd stiffed me. AGAIN." He threw off Cid and clicked over the metal grating as a lone crew member closed the gate and skedaddled, turning only when he'd found a suitable place to lean against and look menacing. Cid's cigarette and Vincent's eyes were the only lights in the hold, and Cid forced himself not to let the burning crimson orbs scare him…or turn him on, as they so often did. That and he _had_ to get the damned lights fixed…oh, that's right…

"Eh…yeah….s-sorry bout that, Vin…I was gonna getcha in the Bronco, but she sorta crashed that first day…an' I'd sent Shera on the Highwind to help Yuffie out in Wutai…an' it took another damn day for her to get back…an', well…I'm real sorry, Vin, I was gonna call ya, but the line wouldn't go through, so I hoped that you'd be still in Nibelheim…ya didn't have to wait for me, though…" Was it just him, or had the fiery crimson softened a bit, changing to a thoughtful maroon?

"So…you really were trying to get back to me?" That voice, once so angry and cruel, was gentle now, even a bit apologetic.

"Y-yeah…" Cid started as a black-gloved hand caressed his cheek, and the eyes he'd been gazing at were a great deal closer, the glow from their mako-enhanced color flooding over Vincent's pale features. It shifted to run through his hair, and Cid bit back a curse as those fingers ghosted over the hastily bandaged concussion on his head, hidden by his goggles. His ashen cigarette had dropped, and now only Vincent's eyes radiated concern, a warm wine-red that was rarely shown to anyone else.

"Cid…was this from the Bronco's crash?"

"Sorta…" The worn out pilot now rested in the gunman's arms, the uninjured back of his head being stroked by firm, careful fingers. He leaned into Vincent's neck and kissed his Adam's apple, a bit sleepy from the long all-nighter he'd pulled pushing the Highwind to its limits to get to Vincent, to apologize... He felt warm, slender lips kiss his forehead, and Vincent rubbed his back with the back of his claw.

"What do you mean by 'sorta', Cid?"

"The Bronco hit a bad pocket of turbulence just above Rocket Town, and when I'd pulled her down enough to try an emergency landing…she just sorta flipped and plowed into the ground…and the house. Brought the house down for a change….just not in a way I'd like." A rough chuckle broke the pregnant pause after that statement, and Vincent sighed wearily.

"So in other words, you have a concussion and you destroyed your house. You know, Highwind, you still haven't told me what you even needed to talk to me about in the first place." Cid stiffened and tried to pull away from him, but Vincent hugged him closer. "Come on, Cidney…" He sighed and tangled his fingers in Vincent's long, almost black hair, a longtime habit that meant something big was up. Vincent soothed him wordlessly, his head completely silent for once as Chaos and company waited on bated breath.

"I'm….I'm gonna retire, Vin…" Four demons howled in denial, almost drowning out Vincent's own cry.

"What?! Cid, the sky is your life!" He sighed and nuzzled Vincent's shoulder.

"Nah, Vince…You're my life. Yeah, the sky's the limit…but I've been in every sky on Gaia…an'…well, I ain't getting any younger, and the Highwind deserves a pilot that has an easier time with moving around in her innards. Shera's got her now, an', well…" Cid's voice had become choppy and a little bit scared, something that _no one_, not even his crew, would have ever heard…but Vincent knew better. He'd heard that fear before, once, before they'd gone into the final battle against Sephiroth, and before he himself fought Deepground. Cid hadn't said much the night that they'd spent on the Highwind, and neither had Vincent, but both knew that like three years earlier, they might never see one another again.

But this time, they weren't just friends…they were lovers, and that had been the hardest thing to do that morning, leaving Cid to fight with the rest of Avalanche. Granted, Yuffie had been a huge help, taking out the troups that he hadn't been able to reach, and the others destroying the ring of reactors probably aided his chances more than he and Chaos cared to admit….but he'd wanted the fierce pilot with him…especially with Hojo's reappearance. However, the reunion afterwards had been one of congratulations and a few tiny tears, and not the one with Avalanche…his personal reunion with Cid after he'd climbed out of the wreckage. They'd waited a week so that Vincent could say his final goodbye to Lucrecia, though he had lied about Chaos…you couldn't really force a part of your soul to go dormant, and the begging had gotten to the point where Vincent just did not care…

"You want to come stay with me."

"If you'll have me…" Vincent laughed, and he let Chaos' excited laugh echo in his own.

"That's not a wise thing to say, Highwind…" Cid laughed a little too, and hugged his gunman tightly.

"So that means you'll take me in?" The puppy dog eyes that Vincent could make out were too much and he caught Cid's lips in a long, lonesome kiss. They stood like that for a while, soft nips and gently probing tongues all that were on their minds. Finally, Vincent broke the kiss and shifted them both to where he could hit the release lever. "Huh…? Waitwaitwaitwait…What're you doing, Vin?!"

"You aren't giving up on the skies, are you?"

"Whaddya mean, givin' up the skies?! Whoawhoawhoawhoa!" Cid yelped as the gate opened and the deep blue skies of Gaia spread out before them, and Vincent's determined face was not helping matters in the least. He wound and hooked his claw around Cid's hip under his bomber jacket, thoroughly enjoying the soft squeak he got when he pulled the pilot flush against his chest.

_"Hang on, Highwind…"_ Chaos' metallic voice mixed perfectly with Vincent's as he dropped from the belly of the airship, the wind screaming in perfect tune with Cid as a crimson glow surrounded the pair and tattered wings exploded out. Cid's screams stopped as Vincent banked, and the gunman-turned-demonic-gunman flipped over on his back, his wings acting as a glider as he turned Cid carefully to lay on his stomach, and both gazed up at the brilliant outlines of a fading Omega so very far above, the Highwind silhouetted against them in the sunset's fading light.

"…Vincent?"

_"…Mm-hm?"_

"…This is better than an airship…"

_"…I know…"_


End file.
